Instructor Descriptions

Andy Portz - Guitar, Banjo, MandolinAndrew Portz has played guitar for more than 25 years. He has taught private lessons for over 15 years, five of which have been with West End Music. Andrew teaches all styles of music including jazz, funk, finger-style, country and folk He graduated with a B.A. in music performance from The University of the Arts in 1997. As a singer/songwriter he released his debut album Blue Lake California(2008) which received airplay on over 150 college stations nationwide. Andrew has been a member of the Philadelphia Funk Authority since 1998 and has performed at Rockefeller Center, The Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC, and Musikfest.

Brook South - GuitarBrook has 10 years of teaching experience at West End Music. After speaking with a new student, he customizes a lesson plan tailored specifically for that individual. When Brook is not teaching, he is working on his own original compositions using his home studio.

Ed McCartan - GuitarEd has been teaching guitar for 30 years, ten of which have been at West End Music. Ed encourages his students to learn and understand how their instrument works musically. Through the use of scales, chords, and music reading, his students learn the relationships of sounds in a variety of musical styles including rock, classical, blues, and jazz. Ed holds a B.A. in Music from Mansfield University and studied guitar under Jimmy Bruno. Ed performs publicly with several different projects.

"Roman" aka Matt Roman - Guitar and Bass GuitarWith 12 years of teaching experience (10 of which were at West End Music), Roman specializes in getting students on stage quickly. The "Boot Camp" Method involves finger exercises, scales, chord theory, and applying that to musical progressions. Roman studied jazz with Tom Kozic and Pat Martino. He studied blues with legend Bobby Roman has been playing professionally for 20 years. He toured the US, UK, and Europe. He assembled jams and gigs for students and currently plays regularly in NYC, Bucks and Lehigh counties.

Steve Rosati - Bass Guitar and Upright BassSteve graduated from Moravian College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Jazz Bass Performance. He has been teaching at West End Music since 2003

Victoria Dougherty-PianoVictoria is an accomplished pianist with many years of classical training. She has been instructing at West End Music for three years. All of her students receive a heavy classical training because "Ms Vicky" believes that this style of music is the ultimate gateway to mastering the instrument. She also encourages students to study music that they like, so pop, movie, video game, and rock themes are often incorporated in lessons. Ms. Vicky's commitment to music education extends beyond the private lessons; she and her husband, Tom (the owner of West End Music), are continuously looking for opportunities for the all of the students to develop through recitals,